Myself honestly I was on the fence at the time. I thought Iowa had plateaued and was hopeful new blood could energize the program and spring board them to the next level (Alford was as hot as an up and coming coach could be we just had to get him before Indiana...) Yet I was also not happy about Bowlsby hanging Davis out to dry like that which I thought might not be a good thing (remember that was prior to the hiring of Alford) It felt like chickens being counted before they were hatched.I do hear a lot of this now. Maybe I just missed it at the time but I don't remember anybody being upset about losing Davis for Alford prior to Alford's 3rd season.
Wow I had forgotten how bad Oklahoma tanked post Switzer. I'm sure McCarney and Snyder were administering some of those whippings.It's crazy how "bad" people think things were when KF started.
………..(rec.... bowl)'93…….6-6... L Alamo………...…..9-3... W Hancock.. #14
…….…….IA……….….…….….…….OU
'94…….5-5-1……….…….…….…..…6-6.. L Copper
'95…….8-4... W Sun...... #22.......5-5-1
'96…….9-3... W Alamo.. #18.......3-8
'97…….7-5... L Sun…...….…….…..4-8
'98…….3-8…….….…….…...….…....5-6
……. KF…….…….….…….…………..BS
'99…….1-10…….…….….……...…...7-5.. L Independence
'00...…..3-9...............……..........….13-0.. Natl Champs!
So:
1) the "bad" KF inherited was 2 straight non top-25 seasons & 1 non-bowl season
2) OU obviously had a tradition Iowa didn't, but Stoops didn't choose them over Iowa because of more recent success
3) damn that was a helluva turnaround by BS!
This is true. But Illinois evens it out. They were a solid program for a good chunk of the Fry era. Not so much during the Ferentz tenure with a brief exception during the Juice Williams years.Something not mentioned above, Hayden didn't have to deal with a great Wisconsin program until the 90s' , I think that it has made a difference in KF's success, or lack of success. It is damn near impossible for both Iowa and Wisconsin to be really, really good at the same time (Top 10). No Alvarez at Wisconsin, maybe HF stays around a few more years. No Alvarez, Ferentz dominates the B1G pre-Meyer. My two cents.
I don't think so. I guess my take on that is did Frys last few years hurt his? He left Iowa in a bad bad spot at the time. It's partially why Stoops chose OU and we ended up with a nobody at the time in KF to begin with. I can't say I've ever heard anyone speak ill of him for that really. It's all rainbows and Rose Bowls when talking about Frys legacy. So all things being equal the same applying for KF I don't see his legacy getting tarnished in any way with mediocre years down the stretch if that's what ends up happening.
Well Iowa was 3-8 Frys last yr correct? The next two seasons after he left KF had 4 wins combined...We've been over this many times. How did Fry lwave Iowa at a bad spot. Last 2 classes if recruitibg were damn good.
Well Iowa was 3-8 Frys last yr correct? The next two seasons after he left KF had 4 wins combined...
I guess I'm confused by what your getting at. Are you saying Frys last two recruiting classes were 'damn good' or are you being sarcastic? You can't argue the 2 or 3 classes Fry had that helped result in the 3-8, 1-10 and 3-8 seasons were damn good can you?
I assume what your getting at is that the last class Fry had would have been seniors during KFs first 11-2 season. I'd be curious to know how many of those kids were there and key contributors from that. If anyone could dig up that sort of info I'd love it.
These guys were all on KF's first roster at Iowa (with their draft round):I assume what your getting at is that the last class Fry had would have been seniors during KFs first 11-2 season. I'd be curious to know how many of those kids were there and key contributors from that. If anyone could dig up that sort of info I'd love it.
Yeah, all conferences see fluctuations. There are only so many wins to go around.Something not mentioned above, Hayden didn't have to deal with a great Wisconsin program until the 90s' , I think that it has made a difference in KF's success, or lack of success. It is damn near impossible for both Iowa and Wisconsin to be really, really good at the same time (Top 10).
This is true. But Illinois evens it out. They were a solid program for a good chunk of the Fry era. Not so much during the Ferentz tenure with a brief exception during the Juice Williams years.
Not having the data in front of me I would guess that Kirk's head to head record against Illinois is right up there with any of his other conference head to heads.
Illinois had a couple of decent years under coach Ron Turner, 1999 at 8-4 and 2001 at 10-2 and a Big Ten championship. They lost the Sugar Bowl to LSU. They were led by quarterback Kurt Kittner and a good defense. They tanked after Kittner graduated.
This probably would have been true but because of regular rotations and then expansion Iowa did not play Illinois for 5 straight years from 2009 to 2013. Ferentz missed a golden opportunity there. Imagine how different 2009 and 2010 would have been if Iowa would have skipped playing OSU instead of Illinois.
Didn't realize the Kittner era was under the watch of Ferentz not Fry. I'll be damned!Illinois had a couple of decent years under coach Ron Turner, 1999 at 8-4 and 2001 at 10-2 and a Big Ten championship. They lost the Sugar Bowl to LSU. They were led by quarterback Kurt Kittner and a good defense. They tanked after Kittner graduated.
But, in the 80's, both Mike White & John Mackovic took them to 10 win, Top-10 seasons.Didn't realize the Kittner era was under the watch of Ferentz not Fry. I'll be damned!